WEBVTT
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So many solo business owners struggle with this scenario.
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They create a website, they invest in courses, but at the end of the day, they find they still don't have any clients.
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Well, perhaps it's not a strategy issue, perhaps it's more of a limiting belief.
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That's exactly what we're going to talk about in this week's podcast episode.
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Stay tuned.
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From burnout to breakthrough.
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Hello, hello, and welcome to the Amplify Your Authority Podcast.
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I'm your host, Marissa Shadrick, and today we're going to talk about a topic that happens in the space of coaches, consultants, and service providers, but it's often not talked about.
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No one wants to admit this, but they're struggling to get clients.
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Now I've had seasons like this as well.
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During COVID, that was probably the worst drop in client acquisition ever.
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Fortunately, I was able to climb out of that.
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And then with the AI explosion that's happened, everything started changing and I saw a dip again.
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These things happen from time to time.
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However, if you've been a coach for a while and you're finding that this is more a consistent pattern for you, here's the part that can get so confusing.
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They often think it's a marketing issue.
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So they're looking for the latest hack or the latest tool or the latest process.
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And they're investing money in courses, a lot of money, thinking that that'll be the silver bullet, the solution.
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But oftentimes it's something internal that's happening that's showing up in your marketing.
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Now, this isn't meant to be a criticism because I struggled with many fears when I first started out.
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In fact, it took me five years to overcome some major fears.
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One was public speaking, one was having people read what I write, and I'm a copywriter.
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I had so many different fears, imposter syndrome, like who am I to create a business, all of the things that you would typically think, I had that.
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And I had to overcome it little by little and chip away until I was able to very clearly see the value that I would bring my clients.
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Now, from time to time, I run across people that are in that same space and it's a perpetual thing.
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It seems like they they can't quite get out of that cycle.
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And they keep looking for tools, they keep looking for courses, they keep looking at different marketing techniques, thinking that will be the answer.
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And it's simply prolonging the inevitable.
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And that's basically facing the fear and moving past it.
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And it could be very difficult and very hard to do.
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It's a painful thing to do.
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But in order to be able to grow a business, there are some skill sets that you need.
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There's a mindset that you need to be able to push you forward because you're going to be doing things you've never done before.
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You're going to be putting yourself out there like you've never had before.
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And so there is a level of confidence that's needed.
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And you can have that confidence if you look deep enough, it's there.
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So all you have to do is let that surface and carry you.
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And if you don't believe me, there's been a lot of studies and surveys that have been done that confirm this.
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People just struggle with imposter syndrome.
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It doesn't matter how many credentials they have, how many certifications they have, what kind of past experience they have.
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It's across the board.
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It's not unique to a certain demographic or a certain age group.
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It is just plain human nature.
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We tend to want to protect ourselves.
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And oftentimes we let fear get in the way and hold us back because we do not want to be rejected.
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We do not want to be criticized.
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And so we hold back.
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And it's important to realize that you're not going to please everyone, first of all.
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Not every person on the internet is going to be your audience.
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Even when you decide on your niche who they are, some people will resonate with you and others won't.
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It's just the way it is.
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And it happens to everyone.
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So we're all in the same boat.
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And you've experienced that too.
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Maybe you're looking for something online and you find five providers.
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Which is the one that you pick and why?
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How did they make you feel?
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What was it about them that resonated with you?
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Maybe they were just a few steps ahead of you and you figured, well, this person isn't going to talk over my head.
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I'm going to understand what they're saying.
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Or maybe they have a similar background.
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You never know what it is that connects a person.
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So the best rule of thumb is you be you.
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You be you, you share your stories, you share your perspectives boldly, and those people will be attracted to you.
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But there's a lot of little hurdles along the way, and that's what we're going to break down today.
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But before we get started, I would love to remind you, if you're watching this on YouTube, please subscribe and leave a comment.
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And if you're listening to this on your favorite podcast platform, please leave a rating and review.
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That would mean so much to me.
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So let's get started.
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Let's look at marketing at a glance.
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So you know what these are, right?
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There's just nothing new under the sun.
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No matter whether you have a membership or you have a course or you have a workshop or you're selling a book, all of these fundamentals apply.
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So basically, in a nutshell, you've got four parts when you're trying to market and sell.
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You've got the message, you've got the visibility component, you have the trust component, and you have conversion.
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So let me break each one down and then I'm going to show you how a limiting belief can sabotage this marketing you're trying to implement.
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So let's take the first one, your message.
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So your message is why you're showing up on the internet in the first place.
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Oftentimes for solo business owners, it's something that they have overcome, or it's something related to a past skill or experience that they have, or it's something that they're very passionate about.
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And they've already gone through the process to validate the offer, find the competitors.
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They've done all that work and they're ready to put their message out.
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You know what you want to say, but you're not quite sure how you want to say it.
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You don't want to make these big claims like everybody else does and sounds salesy, but at the same time, you have something to offer.
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You have a value to provide.
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And somewhere in the messaging, it's not clear.
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It's not clear on your website, it's not clear on your lead magnet.
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You kind of downplay your expertise and you may not even know you're doing this, right?
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You might think, well, I don't want to appear hypey or I don't want to promise too much because what if they don't get the transformation I said they could get?
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Then I look like a liar.
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Well, each person is an individual.
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Each person will apply a piece of content differently.
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Think of the courses that you've bought.
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Have you finished them all?
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Did you get the transformation you were hoping for?
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All you can do is be responsible for your part of the equation.
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Everything that you put out.
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Did you do the best that you can?
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Was it something that's going to help your audience or your reader?
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Is it something that you know has worked for yourself or for other people?
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You do the best you can.
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And then the recipient, it's up to them whether they're going to implement the strategies that you're offering or the tips that you're giving them.
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That's up to them.
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But your part is to provide the content as best as you can.
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So in the messaging, you want to make sure that you're not falling into the comparison trap where you think, well, if I talk about this one topic, oh, I don't know, somebody else does it and they do it better and they have a bigger audience.
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But there's got to be a clear message.
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There's got to be the what's in it for them.
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Otherwise, they won't be interested in it.
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So you can see how insecurities or imposter syndrome can creep in and even affect your messaging and how you present what it is that you do.
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Besides comparison, oftentimes we're afraid of being judged, right, by our peers or by other people.
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And so we don't want to put ourselves out there.
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And again, we're questioning who are we to talk on this topic.
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And this is what research calls identity friction when your internal identity hasn't caught up to where you want to go or who you want to be.
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And so there's this friction, there's tension there.
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Everybody starts somewhere, right?
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Nobody starts like an immediate expert.
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You start, you grow, you put things out, you evaluate, you check your stats, you tweak, you adjust.
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You're constantly refining.
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So even if you're at a point of testing something, being vague may feel safe, but it's not clear.
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And that will hurt you in the long run.
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Your message won't land with your audience.
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People won't feel seen because maybe you're trying to go too broad and not narrow enough because you're afraid that you're not going to have enough people to talk to.
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Well, let me tell you, the internet is huge and there's a lot of people in a lot of niches.
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So don't worry about that of narrowing it down.
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The more you narrow, the clearer the message is going to be.
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And here's what I've discovered.
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When you finally figure out what your message is going to be and where you're going to land and what your niche is and who your audience is, that takes courage because you are committing to something.
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Now, it may evolve after a year, two years, five years.
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It could evolve, but you got to start somewhere and you have to commit to that and not let imposter syndrome or comparison, any type of limiting beliefs hold you back from good, clear branding.
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Now, as I mentioned, I went through a lot of fears.
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And even starting at ground zero with branding, it took me so long to figure out what it was that I was going to do.
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Because fear would just creep up and say, who are you to be talking about this?
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Right.
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Even though I was ahead of other people in a certain topic, I still struggled with those until I realized this.
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And I'm going to share this.
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I've shared this in other podcast episodes, but I'm going to share it again because this is what finally helped me get past that initial fear was that fear just robbed me of free will.
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And fear loves to reinforce those false beliefs.
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And fear will rob you of choice.
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You have no choice once you succumb to fear.
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The choice is made.
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Fear has made that choice for you.
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Fear erodes our potential.
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If we don't face fear head on, it will rob us of our potential.
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I would have never become an award-winning speaker.
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I would have never published articles in international magazines.
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I would have never become a certified copywriter.
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It wanted to erode my potential.
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Fear uses lies like a weapon.
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So you don't want to bow down to fear and let fear be your master.
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And here's the kicker.
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Here's the one that really armed me to face and fight fear.
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And it's this fear needs permission to exist.
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I was giving fear permission every single time, every single day, every single hour, every time I wanted to step out, I let fear make that choice for me.
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And I gave it permission to do that.
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And once I realized that, I said, no more.
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No more.
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At the very least, I'm going to do this just so that I win and fear doesn't win.
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I don't care what happens and what the outcome is going to be, but I am going to fight this fear and I'm going to do all the things that I'm afraid to do just to do it and show that fear is not going to win.
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I'm a little bit stubborn.
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So that helped too.
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But some people call it perseverance.
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I like perseverance better.
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So moving on to the next piece of marketing.
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Now we were talking about messaging.
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So there was a lot there because that's very foundational.
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The next piece is visibility.
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Okay, so once you know what it is that you're going to create as far as a business and who you're going to serve and what your niche is and what you're going to coach on or teach on or the service you're going to provide, then you need to be visible.
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And guess what?
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The fear wants to creep back in again.
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Because when you make yourself visible, you're no longer hiding behind a computer screen.
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Now people are going to see you, they're going to hear you, they're going to read about you.
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And so fear wants to rear its ugly head once again during the visibility component.
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You need to show up, but something stops you.
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You need to create a video, but you don't like how you look on camera.
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You need to write a post, but then you've got to give your point of view and you're afraid somebody will disagree.
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It goes on and on and on.
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And this is where many coaches can get stuck because we need to be visible.
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We need to speak from virtual platforms.
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We need to speak from stages.
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We need to take advantage of opportunities, be guests on podcasts.
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But if fear wants to rear its head up, guess what?
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Visibility is going to drop.
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So what do we do instead?
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We stay busy.
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And I know this because I used to do this myself.
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You stay very busy throughout your whole week working on the same project or going through a new course or planning what you're going to do as far as something that you're going to launch six months from now, and you've got everything mind mapped and you got the calendar all figured out and you've got everything sorted through and you spend days, maybe even weeks with that, but you never really hit publish when it comes to that article, or you never hit record when it comes to that video.
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You just kind of stay behind the desktop.
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I'm saying this in love because I've gone through it and I know many of you want to be able to have that flexibility and freedom and work from home.
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And sometimes it's not even about the money.
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Sometimes it's because you have a burning message that you want to get out there.
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Maybe it's a cause of some sort.
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Well, fear is trying to keep you silent, and it's time for you to embrace your voice and share your voice with others.
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So here's something that sometimes we don't realize is that there's something neurological that's happening, right?
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There's these defaults of the way we think, and the brain treats visibility like a threat.
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And so our brain is trying to protect us, our brain is trying to keep us safe.
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And so when we perceive something like recording a video as a threat, we find every reason not to do it.
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Now, here is where this negative belief can hurt us when it comes to visibility.
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People can't find us because we're not online.
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Our confidence never builds up because we need to practice these skills.
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And if every time we're going to do something, we decide, no, I think it's better if I just do something else instead.
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You're not practicing that skill.
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And it's not going to get easier if you don't practice it.
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And let me tell you something, when you see people online, maybe on video, that isn't necessarily an indication of confidence.
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They are actually building confidence by being on video.
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I still find it very uncomfortable to be on video.
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I don't like it, I don't care for it, but I know people need to see me, especially as a coach, as a service provider.
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They need to hear my heart.
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And when you're just writing and using text, people can't really see that or hear that.
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They see the words on their screen, but they don't really get a real sense of your personality.
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So so far we've talked about two of the four pieces that you need to market and sell.
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And the first one is the branding, which was a big piece.
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The second one was the visibility.
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The third one is a sneaky one.
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It's trust.
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How do you build trust?
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And this is important because people will buy from people they know, like, and trust.
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I'm sure you've heard that before.
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People work a lot on email subject lines, and I'm a copywriter.
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I believe you should write really good subject lines.
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But here's a little secret.
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When I get an email, I look at the sender more than the subject line.
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If it's somebody that I know and I trust, I will open it without even looking at the subject line.
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So trust is really important to get people to even open your emails because they're getting bombarded with tons of emails.
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Even if they're on your email list, your email is not the only email they get.
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So trust is a big piece.
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How do you get people to sign up on a webinar or a workshop?
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Trust because they know you, they've heard you, they've seen visibility online, and now they trust you.
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And so that's an important piece.
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So here's how limiting beliefs can get in the way of building trust.
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One is you could be posting on social media, but you never really start conversations.
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You never really DM anyone.
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You hesitate to comment or reach out or connect, maybe because you're afraid they won't respond or they won't accept.
00:18:48.950 --> 00:18:50.870
Again, that fear of rejection.
00:18:51.110 --> 00:18:53.350
You wait for people to come to you.
00:18:53.590 --> 00:18:54.710
This is a big one.
00:18:54.870 --> 00:18:57.190
We think if we build it, they will come.
00:18:57.350 --> 00:19:03.110
If I put enough out there, if I put my links on my profile, they'll click it, they'll download it.
00:19:03.190 --> 00:19:04.070
No, they won't.
00:19:04.230 --> 00:19:07.910
Or let me put it this way: it's very unlikely that they will.
00:19:08.390 --> 00:19:15.910
But you need to take the initiative to reach out and build those relationships and those connections and build trust.
00:19:16.150 --> 00:19:22.870
Now, when we take that extra step to start a connection or start a relationship, sure, it's going to feel awkward.
00:19:23.030 --> 00:19:25.670
It's almost like saying, Hey, do you want to be my friend?
00:19:25.830 --> 00:19:38.230
And waiting for them to say no, you know, they're not literally saying that, but you're waiting to see if they're going to accept or if they're going to respond because we have this fear of rejection.
00:19:38.390 --> 00:19:47.110
So I can see how reaching out to someone to start building a relationship and trust can be really scary because we don't know how they're going to respond.
00:19:47.350 --> 00:19:55.030
But we need to get in the practice, and again, the more you do it, the easier it gets to reach out to people.
00:19:55.190 --> 00:19:59.510
So if you reach out to 10, maybe two will respond back.
00:19:59.670 --> 00:20:01.910
That's a simple 80-20 rule.
00:20:01.990 --> 00:20:03.270
That's simple math.
00:20:03.430 --> 00:20:06.710
Not 100% of people you reach out to will respond.
00:20:06.950 --> 00:20:13.110
So just forget about fear of rejection because a lot of them are not going to respond and just know that they're not.
00:20:13.270 --> 00:20:21.030
And if you do connect with someone and you decide to get on a Zoom call, don't worry about feeling awkward because they're probably feeling awkward too.
00:20:21.190 --> 00:20:41.830
You know, when you first meet someone and it's just you and them on a Zoom call, just make it easy for them to interact with you and just say, hey, I thought during this time that we have, this 15 minute, maybe we can say a little bit about what we do in our business and just give them kind of like bullets of what the expectation is for the call.
00:20:41.990 --> 00:20:44.070
So they can just go, oh, okay, that sounds good.
00:20:44.230 --> 00:20:47.990
And then you feel good, they feel good, and you can get on with the conversation.
00:20:48.150 --> 00:20:49.670
So why is this important?
00:20:50.070 --> 00:20:55.430
Because trust is built through interaction, not just content.
00:20:55.830 --> 00:21:08.390
And if we just focus on content alone and never reach out, never build relationships, never DM, never try to have a conversation with someone, that's going to limit the relationships that we're trying to build.
00:21:08.550 --> 00:21:12.390
No relationship, no trust, no trust, no clients.
00:21:12.550 --> 00:21:19.910
And even if they're not a direct client, they may be a peer that you can collaborate with in the future.
00:21:20.070 --> 00:21:23.590
They may be someone that has a podcast that you can appear on their podcast.
00:21:23.670 --> 00:21:24.310
You never know.
00:21:24.390 --> 00:21:28.630
You don't go into it with the intent, what can I get out of this?
00:21:28.870 --> 00:21:34.150
You go with the intent of serving, being helpful, being very servant-minded.
00:21:34.230 --> 00:21:35.830
And that goes a long, long way.
00:21:35.990 --> 00:21:39.510
And people begin to put their barriers down.
00:21:39.830 --> 00:21:45.830
And if it comes up in conversation, people can say, Oh, yeah, I had a really great conversation with this person.
00:21:45.990 --> 00:21:51.270
If you get an opportunity to talk to them, you should do it because I came out with so much value.
00:21:51.430 --> 00:21:53.270
You want to be that person, right?
00:21:53.430 --> 00:21:56.150
And the other thing to remember is people are people.
00:21:56.550 --> 00:21:57.670
People are people.
00:21:57.830 --> 00:21:59.270
They're just like you.
00:21:59.750 --> 00:22:05.430
So don't worry about trying to impress someone or don't worry if the other person has more credentials than you.
00:22:05.590 --> 00:22:08.390
Connection only starts when someone goes first.
00:22:08.630 --> 00:22:09.590
Have you noticed that?
00:22:09.750 --> 00:22:11.670
You're at a conference, nothing happens.
00:22:11.750 --> 00:22:15.670
Everybody's sitting there staring at to the front stage until something happens.
00:22:15.910 --> 00:22:22.390
And it's not until someone turns around and extends their hand and says, Hi, my name is Marissa.
00:22:22.950 --> 00:22:24.150
Where are you from?
00:22:24.390 --> 00:22:25.990
And that's when conversation starts.
00:22:26.150 --> 00:22:28.070
Somebody has to start the conversation.
00:22:28.230 --> 00:22:34.390
And one of the things I did that was so small but helped me so much to start conversations.
00:22:34.950 --> 00:22:50.550
Was every time I went out shopping, whether it was at the grocery store or at a regular store and I'm standing in line, I would start a conversation with either the person in front of me or the person behind me just to practice starting conversations.
00:22:50.950 --> 00:22:52.390
It really takes practice.
00:22:52.550 --> 00:22:55.750
The more you do it, the more comfortable you become.
00:22:55.910 --> 00:23:01.590
And now my husband teases me because we went to a concert to see Andre Bacelli about a month ago.
00:23:01.830 --> 00:23:10.150
And while we were waiting in line, I had found out that this couple were there because they received a Christmas gift from their kids to go see Bacelli.
00:23:10.310 --> 00:23:14.070
They were parking the car and they were joining them, and she loved Bacelli.
00:23:14.150 --> 00:23:15.590
She had never seen him before.
00:23:15.670 --> 00:23:17.590
And I got a whole story out of it.
00:23:17.670 --> 00:23:24.150
And my husband just looks at me like, I don't understand you because it's interesting and it makes it a little bit more fun.
00:23:24.310 --> 00:23:28.870
And I had forgotten how freezing cold it was outside while we were waiting to go inside.
00:23:29.030 --> 00:23:31.750
And you meet some interesting people along the way.
00:23:31.990 --> 00:23:35.830
All right, let's move on to the fourth component of marketing and sales.
00:23:35.990 --> 00:23:41.430
We talked about the message, we talked about the visibility, we talked about the trust.
00:23:41.670 --> 00:23:45.670
Now let's talk about conversion because this one is a big one.
00:23:45.830 --> 00:23:48.870
And this is where everything breaks down.
00:23:49.030 --> 00:23:50.870
I wrote a few little notes here.
00:23:51.110 --> 00:23:53.670
You hesitate to share your offer.
00:23:53.910 --> 00:23:57.430
And oftentimes what people say is I don't want to peer sales-y.
00:23:57.910 --> 00:24:00.070
Okay, I'm gonna address that in a second.
00:24:00.310 --> 00:24:08.310
You procrastinate to launch a webinar, you avoid sales conversations like the plague.
00:24:08.550 --> 00:24:10.070
You don't follow up.
00:24:10.310 --> 00:24:12.070
You figure one time was enough.
00:24:12.230 --> 00:24:13.510
Okay, they didn't respond.
00:24:13.670 --> 00:24:15.350
I'm moving on to somebody else.
00:24:15.510 --> 00:24:16.870
You did not follow up.
00:24:16.950 --> 00:24:20.070
And a lot of times it's true, the fortune is in the follow-up.
00:24:20.710 --> 00:24:22.150
You underprice.
00:24:22.390 --> 00:24:23.510
This is huge.
00:24:23.750 --> 00:24:24.870
You underprice.
00:24:25.030 --> 00:24:35.430
And sometimes when we underprice, people think that there's not enough value because it's so low, and you're not really charging for the transformation of the value that you bring.
00:24:35.670 --> 00:24:37.670
So here's what's happening underneath.
00:24:37.830 --> 00:24:46.150
Once again, there's that fear of rejection, there's a fear of asking for money, there's doubt that you are bringing value.
00:24:46.310 --> 00:24:49.830
And believe me, the other person on the other side is going to hear it.
00:24:49.990 --> 00:24:55.430
You're going to be able to tell if you're confident about what you're offering or if you're not confident.
00:24:55.670 --> 00:25:00.230
I think this is where an unhealthy mindset shows up more than anywhere else.
00:25:00.470 --> 00:25:03.830
The internal doubt becomes external hesitation.
00:25:03.910 --> 00:25:07.190
And it hurts you in the long run because this is your opportunity.
00:25:07.350 --> 00:25:15.350
If you've gotten to the point where you can share your offer, you've done a lot to get to that point.
00:25:15.510 --> 00:25:27.190
This is your opportunity to diagnose what it is that's broken that they need help with, and how your solution is the medicine to make them healthy again.
00:25:27.430 --> 00:25:28.790
It's as simple as that.
00:25:29.030 --> 00:25:43.030
I've heard it say that selling is service, but I think selling is just simply an invitation, an invitation to be able to move forward and be able to resolve whatever it is that is holding them back.
00:25:43.270 --> 00:25:47.430
So it's just an invitation and then they get to accept or reject it.
00:25:47.590 --> 00:25:49.510
It's okay if they reject it.
00:25:49.590 --> 00:25:55.270
It might not have been a good fit, but at least you did your part to explain what the invitation was.
00:25:55.430 --> 00:25:57.430
And an invitation is not pressure.
00:25:57.590 --> 00:25:58.550
It's not pressure.
00:25:58.790 --> 00:26:01.910
Once they become a client, then it becomes service.
00:26:02.070 --> 00:26:03.750
Then you serve them and you serve them well.
00:26:03.910 --> 00:26:10.470
Now, next I want to show you how you can use AI to self-diagnose to see if there's any limiting beliefs that's holding you back.
00:26:10.630 --> 00:26:16.870
All right, so how can you use AI to self-diagnose to see if you have some limiting beliefs?
00:26:17.030 --> 00:26:31.510
Now, AI is great at recognizing patterns, which it makes it the best tool to be able to see patterns in your copy on your website, whatever the content is, so it can begin to identify some things.
00:26:31.750 --> 00:26:36.870
So here's what you can do: you can upload some content, and I'll give you a list of things that you can upload.
00:26:37.110 --> 00:26:40.550
But let me just say this it's not going to do the work for you.
00:26:40.710 --> 00:27:02.630
It's simply going to identify some things that can be a little stronger, look at it as a mirror, and then you have to figure out during some quiet time how you can change your mindset or look at things a little differently so that you share content a little bit more confidently.
00:27:02.790 --> 00:27:16.790
So you can upload content that you produce weekly, you can upload a sales page to a product that you have, you can upload a transcript to a sales conversation, you can upload the transcript to a webinar that you did.
00:27:17.030 --> 00:27:32.310
You can upload content where AI can look at patterns and begin to spot some things like a mirror so that you can improve it and realize maybe what you had never realized before, that maybe you're underselling yourself.
00:27:32.470 --> 00:27:38.150
So once you upload the content, just give it a simple prompt and let it know what you're trying to do.
00:27:38.390 --> 00:27:50.070
Tell it that you're trying to uncover some limiting beliefs and that you want it to analyze the content and see where I might have some fear issues in the way I present.
00:27:50.230 --> 00:27:54.230
And then you can say, you know, something like, is the message unclear?
00:27:54.470 --> 00:27:56.230
Where am I holding back?
00:27:56.630 --> 00:28:01.110
Do I sound confident or do I sound a little bit hesitant?
00:28:01.350 --> 00:28:02.070
Ask it that.
00:28:02.150 --> 00:28:07.670
But the best thing to do is just frame it with what you're trying to discover, and then AI can take it from there.
00:28:07.830 --> 00:28:13.430
It'll look for patterns and it'll give you some feedback of where you can improve for future content.
00:28:13.590 --> 00:28:15.190
So let's recap all of this.
00:28:15.350 --> 00:28:21.590
If you're not getting consistent clients, it may not be a marketing or a strategy issue.
00:28:21.750 --> 00:28:23.830
It could be a limiting belief.
00:28:23.990 --> 00:28:35.510
And that belief can be shaping your behavior in each of the four areas of marketing and sales, which was the messaging, the visibility, the trust, and the conversion.
00:28:35.750 --> 00:28:42.310
I know this isn't easy, but once you realize where the challenge really is, freedom is sweet.
00:28:42.470 --> 00:28:43.110
It is.
00:28:43.430 --> 00:28:44.710
Freedom is sweet.
00:28:44.870 --> 00:28:49.830
And I want you today to leap and courage knowing that it won't get any worse than today.
00:28:49.910 --> 00:28:51.350
It can only get better.
00:28:51.590 --> 00:29:01.670
So don't stop serving, don't stop creating, don't stop believing, don't stop dreaming, and don't stop doing the next right thing.
00:29:01.910 --> 00:29:03.670
Until next time, take care.
00:00:35.030 --> 00:00:38.550
So many solo business owners struggle with this scenario.
00:00:38.710 --> 00:00:46.310
They create a website, they invest in courses, but at the end of the day, they find they still don't have any clients.
00:00:46.630 --> 00:00:52.230
Well, perhaps it's not a strategy issue, perhaps it's more of a limiting belief.
00:00:52.390 --> 00:00:56.070
That's exactly what we're going to talk about in this week's podcast episode.
00:00:56.230 --> 00:00:56.950
Stay tuned.
00:01:09.189 --> 00:01:11.830
From burnout to breakthrough.
00:01:20.870 --> 00:01:24.069
Hello, hello, and welcome to the Amplify Your Authority Podcast.
00:01:24.150 --> 00:01:35.349
I'm your host, Marissa Shadrick, and today we're going to talk about a topic that happens in the space of coaches, consultants, and service providers, but it's often not talked about.
00:01:35.590 --> 00:01:39.430
No one wants to admit this, but they're struggling to get clients.
00:01:39.590 --> 00:01:41.830
Now I've had seasons like this as well.
00:01:42.069 --> 00:01:47.509
During COVID, that was probably the worst drop in client acquisition ever.
00:01:47.750 --> 00:01:50.310
Fortunately, I was able to climb out of that.
00:01:50.390 --> 00:01:56.789
And then with the AI explosion that's happened, everything started changing and I saw a dip again.
00:01:56.949 --> 00:01:58.870
These things happen from time to time.
00:01:59.030 --> 00:02:06.629
However, if you've been a coach for a while and you're finding that this is more a consistent pattern for you, here's the part that can get so confusing.
00:02:06.789 --> 00:02:09.189
They often think it's a marketing issue.
00:02:09.430 --> 00:02:14.069
So they're looking for the latest hack or the latest tool or the latest process.
00:02:14.229 --> 00:02:20.629
And they're investing money in courses, a lot of money, thinking that that'll be the silver bullet, the solution.
00:02:20.870 --> 00:02:26.789
But oftentimes it's something internal that's happening that's showing up in your marketing.
00:02:26.949 --> 00:02:32.390
Now, this isn't meant to be a criticism because I struggled with many fears when I first started out.
00:02:32.550 --> 00:02:36.310
In fact, it took me five years to overcome some major fears.
00:02:36.469 --> 00:02:42.469
One was public speaking, one was having people read what I write, and I'm a copywriter.
00:02:42.789 --> 00:02:52.069
I had so many different fears, imposter syndrome, like who am I to create a business, all of the things that you would typically think, I had that.
00:02:52.229 --> 00:03:00.789
And I had to overcome it little by little and chip away until I was able to very clearly see the value that I would bring my clients.
00:03:00.949 --> 00:03:07.189
Now, from time to time, I run across people that are in that same space and it's a perpetual thing.
00:03:07.349 --> 00:03:11.109
It seems like they they can't quite get out of that cycle.
00:03:11.269 --> 00:03:20.310
And they keep looking for tools, they keep looking for courses, they keep looking at different marketing techniques, thinking that will be the answer.
00:03:20.469 --> 00:03:22.949
And it's simply prolonging the inevitable.
00:03:23.030 --> 00:03:27.030
And that's basically facing the fear and moving past it.
00:03:27.189 --> 00:03:29.909
And it could be very difficult and very hard to do.
00:03:29.990 --> 00:03:31.750
It's a painful thing to do.
00:03:31.990 --> 00:03:36.710
But in order to be able to grow a business, there are some skill sets that you need.
00:03:36.949 --> 00:03:44.069
There's a mindset that you need to be able to push you forward because you're going to be doing things you've never done before.
00:03:44.310 --> 00:03:48.710
You're going to be putting yourself out there like you've never had before.
00:03:48.870 --> 00:03:51.990
And so there is a level of confidence that's needed.
00:03:52.150 --> 00:03:56.469
And you can have that confidence if you look deep enough, it's there.
00:03:56.789 --> 00:04:00.069
So all you have to do is let that surface and carry you.
00:04:00.150 --> 00:04:05.669
And if you don't believe me, there's been a lot of studies and surveys that have been done that confirm this.
00:04:05.909 --> 00:04:09.109
People just struggle with imposter syndrome.
00:04:09.269 --> 00:04:16.310
It doesn't matter how many credentials they have, how many certifications they have, what kind of past experience they have.
00:04:16.470 --> 00:04:17.750
It's across the board.
00:04:17.829 --> 00:04:21.189
It's not unique to a certain demographic or a certain age group.
00:04:21.350 --> 00:04:23.430
It is just plain human nature.
00:04:23.750 --> 00:04:26.790
We tend to want to protect ourselves.
00:04:26.949 --> 00:04:33.350
And oftentimes we let fear get in the way and hold us back because we do not want to be rejected.
00:04:33.509 --> 00:04:35.269
We do not want to be criticized.
00:04:35.430 --> 00:04:36.710
And so we hold back.
00:04:36.870 --> 00:04:41.990
And it's important to realize that you're not going to please everyone, first of all.
00:04:42.310 --> 00:04:45.990
Not every person on the internet is going to be your audience.
00:04:46.150 --> 00:04:52.550
Even when you decide on your niche who they are, some people will resonate with you and others won't.
00:04:52.790 --> 00:04:54.469
It's just the way it is.
00:04:54.629 --> 00:04:56.230
And it happens to everyone.
00:04:56.310 --> 00:04:58.230
So we're all in the same boat.
00:04:58.389 --> 00:05:00.069
And you've experienced that too.
00:05:00.149 --> 00:05:04.149
Maybe you're looking for something online and you find five providers.
00:05:04.469 --> 00:05:07.350
Which is the one that you pick and why?
00:05:07.589 --> 00:05:09.350
How did they make you feel?
00:05:09.589 --> 00:05:12.629
What was it about them that resonated with you?
00:05:12.870 --> 00:05:18.870
Maybe they were just a few steps ahead of you and you figured, well, this person isn't going to talk over my head.
00:05:18.949 --> 00:05:20.709
I'm going to understand what they're saying.
00:05:20.870 --> 00:05:23.029
Or maybe they have a similar background.
00:05:23.189 --> 00:05:25.829
You never know what it is that connects a person.
00:05:26.069 --> 00:05:28.709
So the best rule of thumb is you be you.
00:05:28.949 --> 00:05:36.550
You be you, you share your stories, you share your perspectives boldly, and those people will be attracted to you.
00:05:36.709 --> 00:05:40.949
But there's a lot of little hurdles along the way, and that's what we're going to break down today.
00:05:41.110 --> 00:05:47.350
But before we get started, I would love to remind you, if you're watching this on YouTube, please subscribe and leave a comment.
00:05:47.509 --> 00:05:52.629
And if you're listening to this on your favorite podcast platform, please leave a rating and review.
00:05:52.790 --> 00:05:54.550
That would mean so much to me.
00:05:54.709 --> 00:05:55.990
So let's get started.
00:05:56.069 --> 00:05:58.389
Let's look at marketing at a glance.
00:05:58.629 --> 00:06:00.949
So you know what these are, right?
00:06:01.110 --> 00:06:03.189
There's just nothing new under the sun.
00:06:03.509 --> 00:06:11.670
No matter whether you have a membership or you have a course or you have a workshop or you're selling a book, all of these fundamentals apply.
00:06:11.909 --> 00:06:18.230
So basically, in a nutshell, you've got four parts when you're trying to market and sell.
00:06:18.550 --> 00:06:27.189
You've got the message, you've got the visibility component, you have the trust component, and you have conversion.
00:06:27.589 --> 00:06:37.110
So let me break each one down and then I'm going to show you how a limiting belief can sabotage this marketing you're trying to implement.
00:06:37.269 --> 00:06:39.589
So let's take the first one, your message.
00:06:39.829 --> 00:06:44.469
So your message is why you're showing up on the internet in the first place.
00:06:44.709 --> 00:06:57.350
Oftentimes for solo business owners, it's something that they have overcome, or it's something related to a past skill or experience that they have, or it's something that they're very passionate about.
00:06:57.430 --> 00:07:01.829
And they've already gone through the process to validate the offer, find the competitors.
00:07:01.990 --> 00:07:05.189
They've done all that work and they're ready to put their message out.
00:07:05.350 --> 00:07:09.750
You know what you want to say, but you're not quite sure how you want to say it.
00:07:09.909 --> 00:07:17.509
You don't want to make these big claims like everybody else does and sounds salesy, but at the same time, you have something to offer.
00:07:17.670 --> 00:07:19.909
You have a value to provide.
00:07:20.069 --> 00:07:22.469
And somewhere in the messaging, it's not clear.
00:07:22.709 --> 00:07:26.230
It's not clear on your website, it's not clear on your lead magnet.
00:07:26.389 --> 00:07:33.029
You kind of downplay your expertise and you may not even know you're doing this, right?
00:07:33.269 --> 00:07:41.670
You might think, well, I don't want to appear hypey or I don't want to promise too much because what if they don't get the transformation I said they could get?
00:07:41.829 --> 00:07:43.430
Then I look like a liar.
00:07:43.670 --> 00:07:46.469
Well, each person is an individual.
00:07:46.709 --> 00:07:51.670
Each person will apply a piece of content differently.
00:07:51.909 --> 00:07:53.829
Think of the courses that you've bought.
00:07:54.069 --> 00:07:55.350
Have you finished them all?
00:07:55.589 --> 00:07:58.149
Did you get the transformation you were hoping for?
00:07:58.310 --> 00:08:02.469
All you can do is be responsible for your part of the equation.
00:08:02.709 --> 00:08:04.469
Everything that you put out.
00:08:04.790 --> 00:08:06.949
Did you do the best that you can?
00:08:07.269 --> 00:08:11.189
Was it something that's going to help your audience or your reader?
00:08:11.430 --> 00:08:15.589
Is it something that you know has worked for yourself or for other people?
00:08:15.990 --> 00:08:17.670
You do the best you can.
00:08:17.829 --> 00:08:25.430
And then the recipient, it's up to them whether they're going to implement the strategies that you're offering or the tips that you're giving them.
00:08:25.589 --> 00:08:26.469
That's up to them.
00:08:26.629 --> 00:08:30.389
But your part is to provide the content as best as you can.
00:08:30.629 --> 00:08:47.029
So in the messaging, you want to make sure that you're not falling into the comparison trap where you think, well, if I talk about this one topic, oh, I don't know, somebody else does it and they do it better and they have a bigger audience.
00:08:47.269 --> 00:08:50.070
But there's got to be a clear message.
00:08:50.230 --> 00:08:52.790
There's got to be the what's in it for them.
00:08:52.950 --> 00:08:55.029
Otherwise, they won't be interested in it.
00:08:55.190 --> 00:09:05.190
So you can see how insecurities or imposter syndrome can creep in and even affect your messaging and how you present what it is that you do.
00:09:05.430 --> 00:09:12.149
Besides comparison, oftentimes we're afraid of being judged, right, by our peers or by other people.
00:09:12.309 --> 00:09:14.710
And so we don't want to put ourselves out there.
00:09:14.870 --> 00:09:18.629
And again, we're questioning who are we to talk on this topic.
00:09:18.789 --> 00:09:29.269
And this is what research calls identity friction when your internal identity hasn't caught up to where you want to go or who you want to be.
00:09:29.429 --> 00:09:32.549
And so there's this friction, there's tension there.
00:09:32.710 --> 00:09:34.549
Everybody starts somewhere, right?
00:09:34.710 --> 00:09:37.429
Nobody starts like an immediate expert.
00:09:37.669 --> 00:09:44.070
You start, you grow, you put things out, you evaluate, you check your stats, you tweak, you adjust.
00:09:44.230 --> 00:09:46.149
You're constantly refining.
00:09:46.309 --> 00:09:52.950
So even if you're at a point of testing something, being vague may feel safe, but it's not clear.
00:09:53.029 --> 00:09:55.110
And that will hurt you in the long run.
00:09:55.269 --> 00:09:57.990
Your message won't land with your audience.
00:09:58.149 --> 00:10:07.590
People won't feel seen because maybe you're trying to go too broad and not narrow enough because you're afraid that you're not going to have enough people to talk to.
00:10:07.830 --> 00:10:12.389
Well, let me tell you, the internet is huge and there's a lot of people in a lot of niches.
00:10:12.789 --> 00:10:15.590
So don't worry about that of narrowing it down.
00:10:15.750 --> 00:10:18.549
The more you narrow, the clearer the message is going to be.
00:10:18.710 --> 00:10:19.990
And here's what I've discovered.
00:10:20.149 --> 00:10:31.509
When you finally figure out what your message is going to be and where you're going to land and what your niche is and who your audience is, that takes courage because you are committing to something.
00:10:31.750 --> 00:10:36.070
Now, it may evolve after a year, two years, five years.
00:10:36.230 --> 00:10:50.309
It could evolve, but you got to start somewhere and you have to commit to that and not let imposter syndrome or comparison, any type of limiting beliefs hold you back from good, clear branding.
00:10:50.470 --> 00:10:53.590
Now, as I mentioned, I went through a lot of fears.
00:10:53.830 --> 00:11:01.350
And even starting at ground zero with branding, it took me so long to figure out what it was that I was going to do.
00:11:01.669 --> 00:11:06.710
Because fear would just creep up and say, who are you to be talking about this?
00:11:06.950 --> 00:11:07.189
Right.
00:11:07.350 --> 00:11:14.149
Even though I was ahead of other people in a certain topic, I still struggled with those until I realized this.
00:11:14.230 --> 00:11:15.189
And I'm going to share this.
00:11:15.269 --> 00:11:28.309
I've shared this in other podcast episodes, but I'm going to share it again because this is what finally helped me get past that initial fear was that fear just robbed me of free will.
00:11:28.789 --> 00:11:33.269
And fear loves to reinforce those false beliefs.
00:11:33.750 --> 00:11:36.789
And fear will rob you of choice.
00:11:36.950 --> 00:11:39.909
You have no choice once you succumb to fear.
00:11:40.149 --> 00:11:41.269
The choice is made.
00:11:41.590 --> 00:11:43.909
Fear has made that choice for you.
00:11:44.230 --> 00:11:46.549
Fear erodes our potential.
00:11:46.870 --> 00:11:53.269
If we don't face fear head on, it will rob us of our potential.
00:11:53.590 --> 00:11:56.950
I would have never become an award-winning speaker.
00:11:57.110 --> 00:12:00.950
I would have never published articles in international magazines.
00:12:01.189 --> 00:12:04.309
I would have never become a certified copywriter.
00:12:04.710 --> 00:12:07.830
It wanted to erode my potential.
00:12:08.149 --> 00:12:11.830
Fear uses lies like a weapon.
00:12:12.230 --> 00:12:16.950
So you don't want to bow down to fear and let fear be your master.
00:12:17.110 --> 00:12:18.070
And here's the kicker.
00:12:18.149 --> 00:12:23.110
Here's the one that really armed me to face and fight fear.
00:12:23.269 --> 00:12:28.629
And it's this fear needs permission to exist.
00:12:29.750 --> 00:12:42.710
I was giving fear permission every single time, every single day, every single hour, every time I wanted to step out, I let fear make that choice for me.
00:12:42.789 --> 00:12:44.950
And I gave it permission to do that.
00:12:45.110 --> 00:12:48.629
And once I realized that, I said, no more.
00:12:49.029 --> 00:12:49.669
No more.
00:12:50.230 --> 00:12:55.029
At the very least, I'm going to do this just so that I win and fear doesn't win.
00:12:55.189 --> 00:13:06.870
I don't care what happens and what the outcome is going to be, but I am going to fight this fear and I'm going to do all the things that I'm afraid to do just to do it and show that fear is not going to win.
00:13:07.269 --> 00:13:08.629
I'm a little bit stubborn.
00:13:08.710 --> 00:13:09.909
So that helped too.
00:13:10.070 --> 00:13:11.750
But some people call it perseverance.
00:13:11.830 --> 00:13:13.509
I like perseverance better.
00:13:13.830 --> 00:13:16.950
So moving on to the next piece of marketing.
00:13:17.029 --> 00:13:18.549
Now we were talking about messaging.
00:13:18.629 --> 00:13:21.189
So there was a lot there because that's very foundational.
00:13:21.509 --> 00:13:23.750
The next piece is visibility.
00:13:24.470 --> 00:13:39.669
Okay, so once you know what it is that you're going to create as far as a business and who you're going to serve and what your niche is and what you're going to coach on or teach on or the service you're going to provide, then you need to be visible.
00:13:39.830 --> 00:13:40.789
And guess what?
00:13:41.189 --> 00:13:43.830
The fear wants to creep back in again.
00:13:44.149 --> 00:13:50.309
Because when you make yourself visible, you're no longer hiding behind a computer screen.
00:13:51.110 --> 00:13:57.909
Now people are going to see you, they're going to hear you, they're going to read about you.
00:13:58.389 --> 00:14:05.909
And so fear wants to rear its ugly head once again during the visibility component.
00:14:06.470 --> 00:14:09.669
You need to show up, but something stops you.
00:14:09.909 --> 00:14:13.990
You need to create a video, but you don't like how you look on camera.
00:14:14.230 --> 00:14:20.470
You need to write a post, but then you've got to give your point of view and you're afraid somebody will disagree.
00:14:20.710 --> 00:14:22.389
It goes on and on and on.
00:14:22.470 --> 00:14:26.149
And this is where many coaches can get stuck because we need to be visible.
00:14:26.309 --> 00:14:28.389
We need to speak from virtual platforms.
00:14:28.549 --> 00:14:30.309
We need to speak from stages.
00:14:30.549 --> 00:14:35.269
We need to take advantage of opportunities, be guests on podcasts.
00:14:35.429 --> 00:14:38.950
But if fear wants to rear its head up, guess what?
00:14:39.189 --> 00:14:40.549
Visibility is going to drop.
00:14:40.710 --> 00:14:41.990
So what do we do instead?
00:14:42.070 --> 00:14:42.629
We stay busy.
00:14:42.710 --> 00:14:44.870
And I know this because I used to do this myself.
00:14:45.110 --> 00:15:16.149
You stay very busy throughout your whole week working on the same project or going through a new course or planning what you're going to do as far as something that you're going to launch six months from now, and you've got everything mind mapped and you got the calendar all figured out and you've got everything sorted through and you spend days, maybe even weeks with that, but you never really hit publish when it comes to that article, or you never hit record when it comes to that video.
00:15:16.470 --> 00:15:19.269
You just kind of stay behind the desktop.
00:15:19.509 --> 00:15:29.189
I'm saying this in love because I've gone through it and I know many of you want to be able to have that flexibility and freedom and work from home.
00:15:29.509 --> 00:15:32.230
And sometimes it's not even about the money.
00:15:32.389 --> 00:15:36.710
Sometimes it's because you have a burning message that you want to get out there.
00:15:36.870 --> 00:15:38.789
Maybe it's a cause of some sort.
00:15:38.950 --> 00:15:45.990
Well, fear is trying to keep you silent, and it's time for you to embrace your voice and share your voice with others.
00:15:46.149 --> 00:15:51.350
So here's something that sometimes we don't realize is that there's something neurological that's happening, right?
00:15:51.429 --> 00:15:59.029
There's these defaults of the way we think, and the brain treats visibility like a threat.
00:15:59.269 --> 00:16:05.509
And so our brain is trying to protect us, our brain is trying to keep us safe.
00:16:05.669 --> 00:16:13.509
And so when we perceive something like recording a video as a threat, we find every reason not to do it.
00:16:13.669 --> 00:16:18.230
Now, here is where this negative belief can hurt us when it comes to visibility.
00:16:18.470 --> 00:16:21.350
People can't find us because we're not online.
00:16:21.750 --> 00:16:26.629
Our confidence never builds up because we need to practice these skills.
00:16:26.870 --> 00:16:33.590
And if every time we're going to do something, we decide, no, I think it's better if I just do something else instead.
00:16:33.750 --> 00:16:35.429
You're not practicing that skill.
00:16:35.509 --> 00:16:38.070
And it's not going to get easier if you don't practice it.
00:16:38.309 --> 00:16:46.549
And let me tell you something, when you see people online, maybe on video, that isn't necessarily an indication of confidence.
00:16:46.789 --> 00:16:50.629
They are actually building confidence by being on video.
00:16:50.789 --> 00:16:53.830
I still find it very uncomfortable to be on video.
00:16:53.990 --> 00:17:00.870
I don't like it, I don't care for it, but I know people need to see me, especially as a coach, as a service provider.
00:17:01.029 --> 00:17:02.470
They need to hear my heart.
00:17:02.629 --> 00:17:08.470
And when you're just writing and using text, people can't really see that or hear that.
00:17:08.630 --> 00:17:15.509
They see the words on their screen, but they don't really get a real sense of your personality.
00:17:15.670 --> 00:17:20.950
So so far we've talked about two of the four pieces that you need to market and sell.
00:17:21.110 --> 00:17:24.549
And the first one is the branding, which was a big piece.
00:17:24.710 --> 00:17:26.950
The second one was the visibility.
00:17:27.190 --> 00:17:29.430
The third one is a sneaky one.
00:17:29.590 --> 00:17:30.870
It's trust.
00:17:31.190 --> 00:17:33.110
How do you build trust?
00:17:33.190 --> 00:17:38.870
And this is important because people will buy from people they know, like, and trust.
00:17:38.950 --> 00:17:40.710
I'm sure you've heard that before.
00:17:41.030 --> 00:17:45.430
People work a lot on email subject lines, and I'm a copywriter.
00:17:45.590 --> 00:17:48.230
I believe you should write really good subject lines.
00:17:48.550 --> 00:17:50.150
But here's a little secret.
00:17:50.390 --> 00:17:56.070
When I get an email, I look at the sender more than the subject line.
00:17:56.310 --> 00:18:02.950
If it's somebody that I know and I trust, I will open it without even looking at the subject line.
00:18:03.190 --> 00:18:10.950
So trust is really important to get people to even open your emails because they're getting bombarded with tons of emails.
00:18:11.030 --> 00:18:14.550
Even if they're on your email list, your email is not the only email they get.
00:18:14.710 --> 00:18:16.310
So trust is a big piece.
00:18:16.470 --> 00:18:19.670
How do you get people to sign up on a webinar or a workshop?
00:18:19.990 --> 00:18:26.070
Trust because they know you, they've heard you, they've seen visibility online, and now they trust you.
00:18:26.150 --> 00:18:27.750
And so that's an important piece.
00:18:27.990 --> 00:18:31.990
So here's how limiting beliefs can get in the way of building trust.
00:18:32.230 --> 00:18:38.230
One is you could be posting on social media, but you never really start conversations.
00:18:38.470 --> 00:18:40.470
You never really DM anyone.
00:18:40.710 --> 00:18:48.790
You hesitate to comment or reach out or connect, maybe because you're afraid they won't respond or they won't accept.
00:18:48.950 --> 00:18:50.870
Again, that fear of rejection.
00:18:51.110 --> 00:18:53.350
You wait for people to come to you.
00:18:53.590 --> 00:18:54.710
This is a big one.
00:18:54.870 --> 00:18:57.190
We think if we build it, they will come.
00:18:57.350 --> 00:19:03.110
If I put enough out there, if I put my links on my profile, they'll click it, they'll download it.
00:19:03.190 --> 00:19:04.070
No, they won't.
00:19:04.230 --> 00:19:07.910
Or let me put it this way: it's very unlikely that they will.
00:19:08.390 --> 00:19:15.910
But you need to take the initiative to reach out and build those relationships and those connections and build trust.
00:19:16.150 --> 00:19:22.870
Now, when we take that extra step to start a connection or start a relationship, sure, it's going to feel awkward.
00:19:23.030 --> 00:19:25.670
It's almost like saying, Hey, do you want to be my friend?
00:19:25.830 --> 00:19:38.230
And waiting for them to say no, you know, they're not literally saying that, but you're waiting to see if they're going to accept or if they're going to respond because we have this fear of rejection.
00:19:38.390 --> 00:19:47.110
So I can see how reaching out to someone to start building a relationship and trust can be really scary because we don't know how they're going to respond.
00:19:47.350 --> 00:19:55.030
But we need to get in the practice, and again, the more you do it, the easier it gets to reach out to people.
00:19:55.190 --> 00:19:59.510
So if you reach out to 10, maybe two will respond back.
00:19:59.670 --> 00:20:01.910
That's a simple 80-20 rule.
00:20:01.990 --> 00:20:03.270
That's simple math.
00:20:03.430 --> 00:20:06.710
Not 100% of people you reach out to will respond.
00:20:06.950 --> 00:20:13.110
So just forget about fear of rejection because a lot of them are not going to respond and just know that they're not.
00:20:13.270 --> 00:20:21.030
And if you do connect with someone and you decide to get on a Zoom call, don't worry about feeling awkward because they're probably feeling awkward too.
00:20:21.190 --> 00:20:41.830
You know, when you first meet someone and it's just you and them on a Zoom call, just make it easy for them to interact with you and just say, hey, I thought during this time that we have, this 15 minute, maybe we can say a little bit about what we do in our business and just give them kind of like bullets of what the expectation is for the call.
00:20:41.990 --> 00:20:44.070
So they can just go, oh, okay, that sounds good.
00:20:44.230 --> 00:20:47.990
And then you feel good, they feel good, and you can get on with the conversation.
00:20:48.150 --> 00:20:49.670
So why is this important?
00:20:50.070 --> 00:20:55.430
Because trust is built through interaction, not just content.
00:20:55.830 --> 00:21:08.390
And if we just focus on content alone and never reach out, never build relationships, never DM, never try to have a conversation with someone, that's going to limit the relationships that we're trying to build.
00:21:08.550 --> 00:21:12.390
No relationship, no trust, no trust, no clients.
00:21:12.550 --> 00:21:19.910
And even if they're not a direct client, they may be a peer that you can collaborate with in the future.
00:21:20.070 --> 00:21:23.590
They may be someone that has a podcast that you can appear on their podcast.
00:21:23.670 --> 00:21:24.310
You never know.
00:21:24.390 --> 00:21:28.630
You don't go into it with the intent, what can I get out of this?
00:21:28.870 --> 00:21:34.150
You go with the intent of serving, being helpful, being very servant-minded.
00:21:34.230 --> 00:21:35.830
And that goes a long, long way.
00:21:35.990 --> 00:21:39.510
And people begin to put their barriers down.
00:21:39.830 --> 00:21:45.830
And if it comes up in conversation, people can say, Oh, yeah, I had a really great conversation with this person.
00:21:45.990 --> 00:21:51.270
If you get an opportunity to talk to them, you should do it because I came out with so much value.
00:21:51.430 --> 00:21:53.270
You want to be that person, right?
00:21:53.430 --> 00:21:56.150
And the other thing to remember is people are people.
00:21:56.550 --> 00:21:57.670
People are people.
00:21:57.830 --> 00:21:59.270
They're just like you.
00:21:59.750 --> 00:22:05.430
So don't worry about trying to impress someone or don't worry if the other person has more credentials than you.
00:22:05.590 --> 00:22:08.390
Connection only starts when someone goes first.
00:22:08.630 --> 00:22:09.590
Have you noticed that?
00:22:09.750 --> 00:22:11.670
You're at a conference, nothing happens.
00:22:11.750 --> 00:22:15.670
Everybody's sitting there staring at to the front stage until something happens.
00:22:15.910 --> 00:22:22.390
And it's not until someone turns around and extends their hand and says, Hi, my name is Marissa.
00:22:22.950 --> 00:22:24.150
Where are you from?
00:22:24.390 --> 00:22:25.990
And that's when conversation starts.
00:22:26.150 --> 00:22:28.070
Somebody has to start the conversation.
00:22:28.230 --> 00:22:34.390
And one of the things I did that was so small but helped me so much to start conversations.
00:22:34.950 --> 00:22:50.550
Was every time I went out shopping, whether it was at the grocery store or at a regular store and I'm standing in line, I would start a conversation with either the person in front of me or the person behind me just to practice starting conversations.
00:22:50.950 --> 00:22:52.390
It really takes practice.
00:22:52.550 --> 00:22:55.750
The more you do it, the more comfortable you become.
00:22:55.910 --> 00:23:01.590
And now my husband teases me because we went to a concert to see Andre Bacelli about a month ago.
00:23:01.830 --> 00:23:10.150
And while we were waiting in line, I had found out that this couple were there because they received a Christmas gift from their kids to go see Bacelli.
00:23:10.310 --> 00:23:14.070
They were parking the car and they were joining them, and she loved Bacelli.
00:23:14.150 --> 00:23:15.590
She had never seen him before.
00:23:15.670 --> 00:23:17.590
And I got a whole story out of it.
00:23:17.670 --> 00:23:24.150
And my husband just looks at me like, I don't understand you because it's interesting and it makes it a little bit more fun.
00:23:24.310 --> 00:23:28.870
And I had forgotten how freezing cold it was outside while we were waiting to go inside.
00:23:29.030 --> 00:23:31.750
And you meet some interesting people along the way.
00:23:31.990 --> 00:23:35.830
All right, let's move on to the fourth component of marketing and sales.
00:23:35.990 --> 00:23:41.430
We talked about the message, we talked about the visibility, we talked about the trust.
00:23:41.670 --> 00:23:45.670
Now let's talk about conversion because this one is a big one.
00:23:45.830 --> 00:23:48.870
And this is where everything breaks down.
00:23:49.030 --> 00:23:50.870
I wrote a few little notes here.
00:23:51.110 --> 00:23:53.670
You hesitate to share your offer.
00:23:53.910 --> 00:23:57.430
And oftentimes what people say is I don't want to peer sales-y.
00:23:57.910 --> 00:24:00.070
Okay, I'm gonna address that in a second.
00:24:00.310 --> 00:24:08.310
You procrastinate to launch a webinar, you avoid sales conversations like the plague.
00:24:08.550 --> 00:24:10.070
You don't follow up.
00:24:10.310 --> 00:24:12.070
You figure one time was enough.
00:24:12.230 --> 00:24:13.510
Okay, they didn't respond.
00:24:13.670 --> 00:24:15.350
I'm moving on to somebody else.
00:24:15.510 --> 00:24:16.870
You did not follow up.
00:24:16.950 --> 00:24:20.070
And a lot of times it's true, the fortune is in the follow-up.
00:24:20.710 --> 00:24:22.150
You underprice.
00:24:22.390 --> 00:24:23.510
This is huge.
00:24:23.750 --> 00:24:24.870
You underprice.
00:24:25.030 --> 00:24:35.430
And sometimes when we underprice, people think that there's not enough value because it's so low, and you're not really charging for the transformation of the value that you bring.
00:24:35.670 --> 00:24:37.670
So here's what's happening underneath.
00:24:37.830 --> 00:24:46.150
Once again, there's that fear of rejection, there's a fear of asking for money, there's doubt that you are bringing value.
00:24:46.310 --> 00:24:49.830
And believe me, the other person on the other side is going to hear it.
00:24:49.990 --> 00:24:55.430
You're going to be able to tell if you're confident about what you're offering or if you're not confident.
00:24:55.670 --> 00:25:00.230
I think this is where an unhealthy mindset shows up more than anywhere else.
00:25:00.470 --> 00:25:03.830
The internal doubt becomes external hesitation.
00:25:03.910 --> 00:25:07.190
And it hurts you in the long run because this is your opportunity.
00:25:07.350 --> 00:25:15.350
If you've gotten to the point where you can share your offer, you've done a lot to get to that point.
00:25:15.510 --> 00:25:27.190
This is your opportunity to diagnose what it is that's broken that they need help with, and how your solution is the medicine to make them healthy again.
00:25:27.430 --> 00:25:28.790
It's as simple as that.
00:25:29.030 --> 00:25:43.030
I've heard it say that selling is service, but I think selling is just simply an invitation, an invitation to be able to move forward and be able to resolve whatever it is that is holding them back.
00:25:43.270 --> 00:25:47.430
So it's just an invitation and then they get to accept or reject it.
00:25:47.590 --> 00:25:49.510
It's okay if they reject it.
00:25:49.590 --> 00:25:55.270
It might not have been a good fit, but at least you did your part to explain what the invitation was.
00:25:55.430 --> 00:25:57.430
And an invitation is not pressure.
00:25:57.590 --> 00:25:58.550
It's not pressure.
00:25:58.790 --> 00:26:01.910
Once they become a client, then it becomes service.
00:26:02.070 --> 00:26:03.750
Then you serve them and you serve them well.
00:26:03.910 --> 00:26:10.470
Now, next I want to show you how you can use AI to self-diagnose to see if there's any limiting beliefs that's holding you back.
00:26:10.630 --> 00:26:16.870
All right, so how can you use AI to self-diagnose to see if you have some limiting beliefs?
00:26:17.030 --> 00:26:31.510
Now, AI is great at recognizing patterns, which it makes it the best tool to be able to see patterns in your copy on your website, whatever the content is, so it can begin to identify some things.
00:26:31.750 --> 00:26:36.870
So here's what you can do: you can upload some content, and I'll give you a list of things that you can upload.
00:26:37.110 --> 00:26:40.550
But let me just say this it's not going to do the work for you.
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It's simply going to identify some things that can be a little stronger, look at it as a mirror, and then you have to figure out during some quiet time how you can change your mindset or look at things a little differently so that you share content a little bit more confidently.
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So you can upload content that you produce weekly, you can upload a sales page to a product that you have, you can upload a transcript to a sales conversation, you can upload the transcript to a webinar that you did.
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You can upload content where AI can look at patterns and begin to spot some things like a mirror so that you can improve it and realize maybe what you had never realized before, that maybe you're underselling yourself.
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So once you upload the content, just give it a simple prompt and let it know what you're trying to do.
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Tell it that you're trying to uncover some limiting beliefs and that you want it to analyze the content and see where I might have some fear issues in the way I present.
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And then you can say, you know, something like, is the message unclear?
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Where am I holding back?
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Do I sound confident or do I sound a little bit hesitant?
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Ask it that.
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But the best thing to do is just frame it with what you're trying to discover, and then AI can take it from there.
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It'll look for patterns and it'll give you some feedback of where you can improve for future content.
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So let's recap all of this.
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If you're not getting consistent clients, it may not be a marketing or a strategy issue.
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It could be a limiting belief.
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And that belief can be shaping your behavior in each of the four areas of marketing and sales, which was the messaging, the visibility, the trust, and the conversion.
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I know this isn't easy, but once you realize where the challenge really is, freedom is sweet.
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It is.
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Freedom is sweet.
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And I want you today to leap and courage knowing that it won't get any worse than today.
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It can only get better.
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So don't stop serving, don't stop creating, don't stop believing, don't stop dreaming, and don't stop doing the next right thing.
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Until next time, take care.
